My Cosmetic Obsession
Written by Courtney Carver - 53 Comments
Categories: money
photo credit
If you read my guest post on nomeatathlete.com, you already know that I am addicted to cheese, but you may not have known that I also have a problem with high end cosmetics. Because I promised you honesty, I am about to put it all out there. Prepare yourself for some shocking images and price tags. This post is not for the faint of heart.
Here it is, my biggest confession, admission and scream for help. When we had our yard sale recently, I was dumb founded about all the money I had spent over the years. I had bought things that meant nothing to me now. I wondered what my garage sale inventory to savings account ratio really meant.
Then, I started to think about the other places my money was hiding. It was in a beautiful dining room set that is rarely used, a couple of cars, all inclusive vacations, computer equipment and, <deep breath>, my make-up drawer.
Names like Ralph Lauren, Manolo Blahnik and Dolce and Gabbana don’t really do it for me, but whisper brands like, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier and Giorgio Armani cosmetics, and I melt. I get lost in department store cosmetic sections. The pretty palettes call my name. The smell of certain creams and lotions send me to a state of bliss. When my sister visits, (with her make-up addiction), I spend hundreds on shadows, sticks and scented goodies.
Ladies, tell me that I am not alone here. Tell me that you have used the rationalization that if you spend $60 on the perfect foundation, it is less than .16 cents per day for one year. If you’ve done that, or get butterflies in your stomach when Bobbi Brown releases new seasonal palettes, you need to join my three step program. (men, please share this with your wives. You may not even know they have a problem.)
Step One – Admit you have a problem. Hi, My name is Courtney and I am a pretty palette addict.
Step Two – Assess the value and show off your inventory. Really understanding how much money is in your make-up drawer is a lesson you will never forget. Here are my before and after (the unclutter) images. This process was painful but necessary.
Lotions & Creams: Approximate value: $290
Hair & Nails: Approximate value: $105
Brushes: Approximate value: $450
Foundations & Primers: Approximate value: $525
Eye Shadows & Liners: Approximate value: $700
Lips & Cheeks: Approximate value: $675
Grand Total: $2745
Step Three – Commit to no purchases from Nordstrom cosmetic counters (or your favorite department store) or Sephora, or any website that leads you into temptation, for three months, and then, you may purchase an item. You must stick with the one in, one out program. If you buy a lipstick, another one goes in the trash. Once you go through your make up and toss what you don’t use or love, your inventory should never increase!
Maybe we share this addiction, but maybe your “make-up drawer” is be a cabinet full of video games, or a shed full of very expensive tools that you don’t use. Perhaps you have several very expensive cooking pans, many of which serve the same purpose. It’s time to come clean! Where is your money hiding?
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53 Responses to “My Cosmetic Obsession”
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Courtney Carver July 9, 2010 at 8:48 am
Matt, I will for sure do a follow post. If I can give up dairy and tv, I can give up buying pretty pots of creams and gels that I probably won’t use. You have to do the 3 step process. When you see that final number…you will want to make a change! Thanks for your comment, I love that you admitted what was in your make-up drawer!
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Awurrlu July 9, 2010 at 8:18 am
For me, it was books and CDs. However, I was able to sell some of my CDs for more than I paid for them after I digitized them all and backed them up both on site and in the cloud. Some, though, weren’t even worth a dollar.
I do have a few words of encouragement for you: going by the pic on your about page, you hardly need any of those products to be beautiful! Toss as many as you can (recycle the containers if possible), and embrace the joy that comes from knowing you can run through a sprinkler on a hot day and you’re not wearing mascara that will run!
I wore makeup until my early 20s, hoping it would cover my imperfect skin. It turned out that the makeup was actually causing problems with my skin (and taking up time in my life). Since then, I have only used a really good eyelash curler and some clear, natural lip balm. That’s all I need! (OK, I spend on a really good cleanser and moisturizer, and I do tame my eyebrows, but that’s all.)
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Courtney Carver July 9, 2010 at 8:46 am
Awurrlu, thanks for the kind words of encouragement. The second part of my confession is that I don’t really wear a lot of make-up. In fact, if I don’t have a meeting or hot date with my husband, I don’t wear any! I just love it. (weird and wrong, I know!) Also, thanks for mentioning the eyebrows – that is another $30 a month for expert waxing!
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chivonne October 27, 2011 at 7:16 pm
I am the same way- I wear makeup maybe once or twice a week and it is usually minimal when I do (foundation, blush, mascara). I can’t be bothered on a daily basis, but I take comfort in knowing that I have lots of pretties hoarded at home. Haha, its a strange thing indeed.
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Brett Oblack July 9, 2010 at 8:47 am
Love the honesty!
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Chris Stroud July 9, 2010 at 9:14 am
For me, it is work out clothes. I have about 25 pairs of workout shorts and 30 shirts.
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Clearly Composed July 9, 2010 at 7:01 pm
I used to have a magazine habit that was pretty amazing. I only subscribe to two now and don’t “crave” them like I used to. It’s really freeing to limit things…even the good things. Best of luck to you.
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Dan Goodwin July 10, 2010 at 11:00 am
Courtney, I admire your honesty in posting this, and all the pictures, especially as your blog is called Be More With Less! Forgive me for saying but looking at the before and after pictures was a bit like playing spot the difference for me. I couldn’t see that you’d got rid of very much?
I know I’m a guy and my “make up” collection consists of a bottle of moisturiser, a few lipsalves, a tub of cocoa butter, and a tub of hair styling wax, but what do you need 24 different brushes for? I’m intrigued!
That said, I think we should bear in mind that not everything we purchase is as an investment, or must have a great resale value. Sometimes it’s just because it genuinely enhances our lives.
The things I have most of are CDs (about 550ish) and I contemplate virtually daily whether to put them all on a hard drive, get a huge capacity ipod and go completely digital. But I just so love cover artwork and ho some of the packaging is hand made (eg – artists on Canadian label Constellation). Also, maybe this is just me, but I have trouble finding stuff on my ipod nano because I often remember a record by its cover before I remember the artist or album name, and on the ipod it’s just a list of text. I love music, and every CD I’ve bought I see as not a momentary investment, but an investment in my own pleasure and quality of life.
Anyways, like Matt said, an update post would be great to see. Well done for being so open.
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Courtney Carver July 10, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Dan, Thanks for weighing in. My minimalism is a work in progress. I am shedding clutter, and non-essentials, but I have to say my make up drawer was tough! I noticed the same thing about about the before and after pics, but I know that I did unload a bunch! When I post my update, I am going to get rid of more (maybe a few of the brushes!). They each have their own purpose, but my explanation would not be minimalistic!
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Linda October 18, 2010 at 9:42 am
Courtney – I so agree with you one the whole brush-uation….. however, I am happy to say I getting more and more inspired and I’m ‘goin’ in’ too. I don’t believe I have the dollars invested in brushes but the number of them I house is above normal…. I am a huge Kat Von D fan and have purchased all of her pallets to date….. realistically I cannot/do not wear more than say 4 colors on any given day so – clearly – I am overstocked.
Thanks for the inspiration I cannot tell you how much it has encouraged me to change and appreciate.
LindaReply
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Katie July 11, 2010 at 7:36 am
Way to confess, Courtney. It’s not just you. We all have way, way too much stuff. I have twenty-five pieces of patio furniture. Some are under the deck because there isn’t room for them or I got sick of them. I’ve recently noticed this and decided to not buy anything new for my deck. How many chairs do three people really need? We can all learn to just stop, wait and ask whether or not we really need it. It’s kind of a sickness in our society right now. I think they call it “affluenza”. Someone the other day told me they heard the expression “a five planet society”. It meant that if everyone on the planet consumed at the rate that North Americans do, we’d need five planets to sustain us. Crazy. Our money is hiding in our need to consume and we’ve just got to stop our addictions to buying stuff. Love your confessional post.
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Eileen O'Shea July 15, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Hi Courtney,
This post resonated with me. My obsession has been hair care products – buying yet another new one to tame the frizz. I was able to stop doing it a year ago by really looking at (and seeing) the contents of my “hair products” drawer and also by facing the feelings that were driving the buying.For me the root of this kind of unnecessary buying is always some inner dissatisfaction or disquiet, which the purchase does nothing for. It’s uncomfortable to face those feelings but then again hair conditioner will never lessen them.
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alyson dopfer July 17, 2010 at 11:43 am
Hi there I am the sister! I love my Bobbie Brown, and where it all the time! I use BB because my skin reacts well, if I use another brand I am full of blemishes.
I will continue to use Ms. Brown for a long long time!!
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steph August 29, 2010 at 12:42 am
… just to stir a bit of conversation on this topic…
have you considered putting these items into a box and stashing it away to see which you actually are using?
it’s taken me a few months, but i have rid myself of make up completely. my confession is i’ve noticed the days i have the urge to wear make up are days my self esteem isn’t in the best of shape.
ladies, let’s be proud and wear our beauty on the outside and shed ourselves of the constraints of make up! it uses valuable resources to create, adds lots to landfills, wastes our money when purchased, steals our time when putting it on, touching up, removing. realize those dark circles under our eyes are our bodies needing a little sleep! maybe try ditching make up for awhile as another mini mission!
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Angela B October 18, 2010 at 8:55 am
My tip is to sort the makeup you have left into ‘summer’ and ‘winter’ – clean the out of season stuff beautifully and put it away in a box. When the seasons change it feels as if you have a whole load of ‘new’ makeup, without buying anything new. Plus some of it will have gone off, so you can guilt-free throw that away. Then at the end of the season, when you change your make up over, you’ll also be able to get rid of anything that you didn’t use in the past season, as you know for a fact you haven’t worn it.
Buying make up is all tied up with enjoying the feeling of ‘potential’ improvement…tomorrow I will be Cinderella! I have found myself that accepting myself now as I am means that I only want makeup that makes me look good right now. So if I buy makeup, I tell myself that unless I’m happy to crack the packaging on the spot and put some on in the shop to wear home, it’s probably never going to get used because I’m buying for this crazy ‘improved’ version of myself. That helps stop me buying 10 red lipsticks, when I never wear lipstick
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debra October 19, 2010 at 6:01 pm
only three basic things one needs: mascara, concealer, bronzer, lipgloss or chapstick, and a clenser to remove it all at the end of the day or to use first thing in the morning, the end.
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Lisa October 20, 2010 at 10:45 am
Trust me, the obsession is worse when you work in the beauty industry!
(I’m a makeup artist, manicurist/pedicurist & I’m studying to be an esthetician. They just enable me.)Reply -
Kat @ Me Simplified December 7, 2010 at 11:20 am
Wow, that’s a lot of product! I have probably two dozen items but your pictures inspired me to give them a once over. I have brushes I don’t use, eye shadow that I don’t like how it feels and nail polish I don’t wear. My hair is now super short but I’ve kept my blow dryer, straightner, curling iron and hair accessories in case I grow it out (which will probably never happen – I love my wash and wear look). Seems I also have an old box of hair color which I haven’t done for about 8 months now. I’ve embraced my natural color and all the gray that goes along with it. Thanks for the prompt to give my cosmetic bits and bobs a clean out.
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Terri December 25, 2010 at 12:50 pm
At 46, I’ve also embraced my gray and, as of last haircut, have cut all the old coloring out. I was never much for expensive makeup when Maybelline or Covergirl will do. Now that my 12 and 14 y-o girls are wearing makeup, I make sure they are using the minimum to enhance their beauty but not cover it up. Whatever fits into a little makeup bag, which amounts to foundation for imperfections only, a trio of eyeshadow that enhances their color, mascara and curler, and lip balm. Makeup shouldn’t be the first thing I see when I look at their face. They are reminded of this when they see girls in school wearing a ton of it and how awful it looks. We use coconut oil mixed with Aquafor for moisturizer, plain soap for face washing, and maybe some acne cream. That’s it. Balancing hormones with a good diet is the most essential thing for anybody, young and old.
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Julie K February 4, 2011 at 2:01 am
Oh this post could have been written for me!
Thank you!As part of the #less365 hashtag on Twitter I’ve been looking at my makeup bag this week. I’ve been horrified at the quantity of just ‘stuff’ 12 eyeshadows, at least that in lipsticks, glosses and balms, 6 eyeliners, and as for nailpolish well you’re really minimalist already on that score! I’m too embarrassed to count them.
So I’m really working on reducing it. 8 eyeshadows have gone (and the others are on notice – if I don’t appear to use them in the near future they’re out too) most of the eyeliners and over half the lipsticks. Nailpolishes are my next target.
I’ve been thinking as to why I’ve got this many. Cosmetic counters have a lot to answer for, as well as my habit of thinking that whilst I’m shopping (and have a list of things the children need like stuff for school) I’ll just treat myself…. Oh and hands up who else loves those ‘buy one product get a make-up bag of goodies as a free gift’ That would be me and of course half of it doesn’t even suit me.. *sigh*
Thanks again for this post – very timely for me
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Stacee April 15, 2011 at 9:14 pm
You inspired me to do the same on my blog! I put a link to this page mine, I hope that was okay. =)
lowercaseliving.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/simplify-cosmetics/
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helena May 23, 2011 at 11:01 am
so glad i am not the only person with this addiction … i just cleaned out my cosmetics drawer and was horrified at the amount of money i threw in the garbage … and yet i am fighting the tempatation for a new lipstick today … baby steps!!!
Guilty.
My makeup drawer is (was!) filled with video games. At sixty bucks a pop, I’m a little afraid to sit down and calculate just how much coin I’ve spent on a hobby that very rarely justified the cost. I think that’s actually the hardest part – realizing how little value we get in return for all the money we spend on things we fancy.
I’m a little floored at how expensive those brushes and accessories turned out to be. You should do a follow-up post in a month’s time and let us know if you’ve kept to your promise. Nothing like a blog to hold yourself accountable!
Great post. Courtney!